Download PGN of December ’24 Nimzo and Benoni games
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Nimzo-Indian: 4 e3 0-0 5 Bd2 d5 6 Nf3 b6 [E52]
4 e3 0-0 5 Bd2 d5 6 Nf3 b6 7 cxd5 exd5 8 Rc1 Bb7 9 Bd3 Be7 10 0-0 c5:
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The popularity of this key Bd2 Nimzo line shows no sign of decreasing, and this month’s update contains two recent examples.
a) 11 Be1!? is a small nuance, which certainly had the desired effect in Aczel, G - Chen, H. After 11...Re8 (11...Nc6! looks wiser) 12 Ne5! White reverts to Plan A and will try to demonstrate that Be1 is more useful than ...Re8. After the further inaccuracy 12...a6?! 13 f4! Nc6 14 Bh4! White had got the dream position and managed to win convincingly.
b) 11 Ne5 Nc6 12 a3:
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German GM Matthias Bluebaum is one of the world's leading experts on this line, so it was interesting to see him in action against one of the world’s elite players in Alireza Firouzja. In this position Firouzja played the novelty 12...Qe8!?. After 13 Ng4 Nxg4 14 Qxg4 Rd8!, one of the points of the queen move was demonstrated. With a rook on d8, Black's d5-pawn seems more secure, and Black is okay here. See Bluebaum, M - Firouzja, A for analysis.
Nimzo-Indian: 4 e3 0-0 5 Nge2 d5 [E46]
4 e3 0-0 5 Nge2 d5 6 a3 Be7 7 cxd5 exd5 8 Nf4 c6 9 Bd3 Re810 0-0 Nbd7 11 f3 Nf8 12 Bc2:
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This typical position has been reached on many occasions. I've previously studied 12...Ne6, which has been Black's most popular choice here. It seems that 12...Bd6! is an equally effective way to meet White's f3/e4 plan. It certainly worked well for Black in the recent game Tan, J - Albornoz Cabrera, C.
Nimzo-Indian Saemisch [E29]
4 e3 0-0 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 bxc3 c5 7 Bd3 Nc6 8 Rb1 d6 9 Ne2 b6 10 e4:
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There's been some recent interest in the tricky 8 Rb1, which has scored well for White. We’ve previously considered the typical retreat 10...Ne8. In a recent game Black preferred 10...Ba6 11 0-0 e5 but wasn’t able to solve his opening problems. See Narayanan, S - Gan-Erdene, S for details.
Nimzo-Indian: 4 Qc2 d6 [E32]
4 Qc2 d6 5 e4 c5 6 d5 exd5 7 exd5:
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One of the points of the 4...d6 move order is too take the sting out of an early e4 by White, and the diagrammed position is a good example. We’ve previously looked at both 7...0-0 and 7...Qe7+, both of which are more than satisfactory for Black. However, the recently played 7...b5! looks like an even stronger choice for Black - see the notes to Domalchuk-Jonasson, A - Muradli, M.
Queen’s Indian: 4 g3 Bb7 5 Bg2 Be7 6 Nc3 [E17]
4 g3 Bb7 5 Bg2 Be7 6 Nc3 0-0 7 Qc2!?:
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With the 6 Nc3 0-0 move order, 7 Qc2 is a tricky option for White because it prevents the typical freeing idea ...Ne4. 7...c5! is a logical reaction to Qc2, as White has less control over d5. Even so, 8 d5! is still critical. 8...exd5 9 Ng5:
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Here 9...h6 has been Black’s most popular choice. I believe many players, myself included, were put off 9...Nc6! due to a famous Korchnoi-Karpov game. However, modern engines suggest that it's actually Black's best option. See Grischuk, A - Esipenko, A for updated analysis of this line.
Till next time, John
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